His Unidentified & Untouchable Mate

The Factory (2)

Zahraa POV

“You’ve lost your mind,” I said, a laugh creeping into my voice. “First of all, do you even know what the odds of a ‘watertight room’ staying ‘watertight’ throughout sixty years? Even if there were pockets of air down there, opening a door to them would’ve let all that air out. You can’t possibly be suggesting that the missing wolves – all seven thousand? – are down there.”

“I’m not,” Jacob’s voice was edged with frustration as he groaned and mussed his hair. “I mean, I’m hoping. I just think that it’s a good place to check, that no one else would.”

I put a gloved hand over his on the railing, my brow pinched in the middle. “Jacob, there’s a good reason no one is checking there. Maybe let’s check the above ground parts and call that a day.”

I could tell that he didn’t like that, but didn’t have a good rebuttal either. I could still hear the grinding of gears as his mind worked to come up with a way to get what he wanted.

“Do you want to split up?” I asked, “Cover more ground?” He looked at me with a blank stare, and I returned it until it started creeping me out. “What? Do I have something on my face or something?”

“No,” he replied quickly. “It’s just that’s literally the first suggestion in every horror movie. You never split up. Never.”

“Not a big horror fan,” I replied. We started walking, kicking open doors as we went and offering quick peeks inside, figuring if there were clues as to the whereabouts of the missing wolves, they’d be easy to spot amongst the ages old dust and debris. “Honestly, not a big movie fan.”

“What?!” his indignant cry echoed across the empty halls, bouncing off the water and returning to us in the form of an eerie echo. “How can you not be a movie fan? Everyone is a movie fan!”

“That is simply not true,” I huffed a laugh as we checked another room. “They’re a big time-commitment. I have studying to do, my work…” I trailed off a moment, wondering if now was the time to bring it up. “…Acting as my own private investigator.”

Jacob’s lip twitched ever so slightly, and I tried to ignore the swell of annoyance I felt at that. “About that. Your file…”

I opened another door. In this one, there was a huge hole in the floor. “Whoa,” I walked in, choosing my steps carefully across the unstable flooring. “Look at this,” I said, waving him over.

He followed in my footsteps as we approached the slope of flooring that gave way to a huge, empty expanse. “How deep do you think it goes?” I asked. Even with excellent vision, it was very hard to see the bottom of a hole that was enveloped in perfect, pitch darkness.

“At least…” he started to perk up. “At least three floors. This could be it, Z – this could be a way down.”

I felt an immediate pang of apprehension. “Jacob… I don’t like this.” It’s dangerous.”

Jacob produced a flashlight. There was water at the bottom, but mere puddles. I could see a chair with its legs only partially submerged. “I’m going down,” he announced.

“What? No!” I watched in growing horror as he grabbed one of the thick cords of electrical wiring and tied it around a heavy steel brace that had caved in (there was no way this place was structurally sound – even a little). “Jacob, you can’t be serious-”

“Of course I am,” he snapped back. He seemed to realize there was too much of an edge to his words, and he took a deep breath before adding. “Zahraa, listen, this is a chance to prove myself to my father, and a chance to do something actually worthwhile for the pack. I won’t throw this chance away.”

I considered arguing further, but something within me knew this was a lost cause.

“You can stay here if you want,” he added, much softer this time. “I know this is… I know it’s dangerous. I don’t want you to get hurt following me in here.”

“Then don’t go,” I argued, grabbing hold of his arm and giving it a firm squeeze.

He shook his head. “I’ve got to, Z. But you don’t.”

“But I do,” I blurted. We stared at each other in awkward silence before I cleared my throat and explained, “Well… I just can’t leave you,” I explained. “And… you know what they say about horror movies. Never split up.”

Was it just the trick of the non-light, or did his smile look a little relieved? “Thanks,” he said. “And listen – I know this isn’t fun for you. I promise after we’re done with this, I won’t drag you on any last minute, dangerous expeditions.”

I wish he’d thought of that before I came out here with leggings and my omega work uniform on, but what can you do?

I sighed. “I’d appreciate that.” He finished tying off the cord, and I added, “Let’s get this over with, shall we?”

He nodded and slid down it easily, with military precision, as if he’d practiced. Much like I had in gym class, I clung to the rope with all my might and still fell off. Jacob caught me before I landed in an awkward heap on the floor, cradling in my arms like a knight carrying his princess.

My face blazed red, but I would be lying if I said I disliked it.

He cleared his throat and slowly lowered my legs to the ground, releasing me only when my legs were steady beneath me. “Not very athletic for a leopard.”

Luckily, my face couldn’t get any hotter. “Not like this, I’m not.”

A clatter pulled us away from our banter, and we looked down the halls that were much darker here than above. The passageway – barely wide enough to be called a hall – was a concrete rectangle that stretched so far that I couldn’t see its depths, with no windows or doors lining its sides. It looked almost unnatural - unlike anything an architect would want to imagine... especially for an old mill. The water was ankle-high, just enough to sink into our shoes and squelch as we walked.

“We saw that fish earlier,” I reminded him, but my voice was shaky, hesitant to deny what we’d heard. “Maybe… maybe it’s just something that lives down here.”

The further down the hall we got, the more we heard. A soft murmuring, a noise that was too inconsistent to be something like a drip.

“It’s them,” Jacob said, and without warning, he burst into a sprint, leaving me alone in the darkness.

Running after him was taxing. I didn’t have his strength or stamina, and the water slowed my steps. I was worried about obstacles that might be hidden in its murky pool. A cut here would get infected for sure.

I was so busy searching the waters before I stepped, in fact, that I almost ran into Jacob’s back when I caught up to him. When I looked up, there was a door, bolted shut and blocked in by rubble.

On the other side of it, there was no mistaking the distinct sound of many voices, speaking over each other in a disharmonious roar.